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Soon, Maharashtra government officials may be fined for delaying services to you

Soon, state government officials who drag their feet on providing services and facilities to citizens within the stipulated time limit without any reasonable cause may have to pay a stiff fine.

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Soon, state government officials who drag their feet on providing services and facilities to citizens within the stipulated time limit without any reasonable cause may have to pay a stiff fine.

The state government's draft of the proposed Maharashtra Guarantee of Public Services Bill, 2015, has, however, not specified the amount, which will be notified in the official gazette. The Bill, which provides for appointment of designated officers for citizen-related services, and appellate authorities for citizens to seek redressal on lines of the Right to Information Act, has provisions for disciplinary action against habitual offenders who delay provision of services.

The state government had, in its first cabinet meeting, set up a committee to begin work on the sunshine law to guarantee time-bound delivery of government services to citizens and pull up errant public servants.

It has placed the draft of the Bill in the public domain as part of a pre-legislative consultative process. Applicable to all departments, agencies and public authorities who provide public services, it has been placed on the state government's website.

It says the state will encourage all public authorities to utilise information technology (IT) to deliver their respective notified services within the stipulated time. It will, within three months from the commencement of the Act, notify the services, designated officers and stipulated time limit for provision of these services by every public authority and department.

Every applicant will get a unique application number along with stipulated time limit for the disposal of his/her application. The designated officer will have to provide the service within the time limit or reject the application while stating the reason for doing so in writing.

The officer will also have to communicate to the applicant the period of appealing against the order and the name, designation and address of the first appellate authority. After hearing the applicant and the officer, the authority may direct the provision of the service in the specified period or reject the appeal with reasons. An appeal against the order of this first appellate authority can be made to the second appellate authority.

The state government will also constitute a State Public Service Delivery Committee consisting of chief secretary, additional chief secretary (administrative reforms), principal secretary, urban development and principal secretary, rural development and principal secretary, information technology, to recommend steps for efficient service delivery and monitor working of the guarantee of delivery of notified services by the public authorities.

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